Southwest Florida International Airport is maintaining its level of airport satisfaction, even as other airports surpassed it in an annual survey.

The airport ranked first in the 2015 J.D. Power North America Airport Satisfaction Study, with a score of 792 out of a possible 1,000, the highest of all medium and large airports. In this year's survey, released today, it boosted its score to 795, but ranked sixth for medium-sized airports.

"It's a delicate balance," said Victoria Moreland, airport spokeswoman. "Of course airport operations, our first goal, is it's safe and secure. Increasingly airports are taking ownership of customer satisfaction. They spend more time in our airport than on an airplane."

Sacramento International Airport ranked first with a score of 810, with Indianapolis International Airport at 807 and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport with 806 rounding out the top three. John Wayne Airport, in Santa Ana, California, was at the top of large airports with a score of 796.

The study, in its 12th year, measures overall traveler satisfaction with large- and medium-sized North American airports in the areas of terminal facilities, airport accessibility, security check, baggage claim, check-in/baggage check and terminal shopping.

The study is based on responses from 34,695 North American travelers who traveled through at least one domestic airport with departure and arrival experiences (including connecting airports) during the past three months. The study was fielded from January through August.

“Capacity has become a huge challenge for North American airports, with many reporting 100 percent of available parking spots being filled and large airports, such as Orlando International, setting passenger volume records each month for more than three years straight,” said Michael Taylor, Travel Practice Lead at J.D. Power, which explores consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics.

The same is true at the Fort Myers airport. Friday, the Lee County Port Authority reported increased passenger rates for August and the year.

During August, 481,185 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport, an increase of 11.5 percent compared to August 2016. Year-to-date, passenger traffic is up 3.3 percent from the same period last year.

The traffic leader in August was Delta Air Lines with 117,288 passengers traveling to and from Fort Myers. Rounding out the top five airlines were Southwest (92,054), American (89,926), JetBlue (56,157) and United (41,788).

Southwest Florida International Airport had 4,640 aircraft operations, an increase of 12 percent compared to August 2016. Page Field saw 6,915 operations, a 12.2 percent decrease from August 2016. In addition, slightly more than 2.8 million pounds of air freight moved through Southwest Florida International Airport in August 2017, an increase of 9.9 percent compared to August 2016.

Southwest Florida International Airport served 8.6 million passengers in 2016 and is one of the top 50 U.S. airports for passenger traffic.

A modest increase in passengers is projected in next year's draft budget for Southwest Florida International Airport. The had its busiest month ever in March, serving nearly 1.3 million passengers.(Photo11: File photo)

The airport can have 350 flights per day during the busy spring season, Moreland said, and is constantly improving their operations and adding staffing as needed.

“... Airports are responding with new technology and old-fashioned personal skills to win over harried travelers," Taylor said. "These range from smartphone apps that tell travelers where to find a parking spot to therapy dogs — and in one case, a therapy pig — mingling with travelers to relieve stress and improve the overall airport experience.”

Moreland said the airport is focused on providing excellent customer connectivity. The airport has removed outdated pay phones and replaced them with comfortable charging stations where passengers can livestream Netflix and plug in their smartphones and e-readers, as they wait for their flights.

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To help prevent bird strikes, Southwest Florida International Airport has employed a trained border collie since 1999 to herd birds off the airfield. See the latest generation of the airport's bird dog legacy in action.
LAURA RUANE/THE NEWS-PRESS, staffers of The News-Press

"Being connected is something that is a necessity," she said. "It is not a luxury item. It's part of travel experience. We're not stopping. We're continually looking at new things. ... We are at the top of the pack when it comes to customer service, friendliness and cleanliness."

She said they have started a study to determine what food, beverage and shopping options they should add, as well as have a frequent flier parking program that speeds up the process.

They also responded to passengers requests and began allowing ride services such as Uber and Lyft on July 1.